Richard Bassett (Delaware politician)

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Education and career

Born on April 2, 1745, in Cecil County, Province of Maryland, British America,<ref name=FJC>Template:FJC Bio</ref> Bassett pursued preparatory studies, then read law.<ref name=FJC/> He was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Delaware.<ref name=CB>Template:CongBio</ref> By concentrating on agricultural pursuits as well as religious and charitable concerns, he quickly established himself amongst the local gentry and "developed a reputation for hospitality and philanthropy."<ref name = soldierState>Template:Cite book</ref> He was a member of the Delaware constitutional conventions of 1776 and 1792.<ref name=CB/> He was a member of the Council of Safety in Dover, Delaware from 1776 to 1786.<ref name=FJC/> He served in the Delaware State Militia as a company captain of the Dover Light Horse Regiment from 1777 to 1781.<ref name=FJC/> He was a member of the Delaware Legislative Council (now the Delaware Senate) in 1782.<ref name=FJC/> He was a member of the Delaware House of Representatives in 1786.<ref name=FJC/> He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787,<ref name=CB/> and was a signer of the United States Constitution.<ref name=CB/> He was a member of the Delaware convention which ratified the United States Constitution in 1787.<ref name=CB/> He was in private practice in Wilmington, Delaware, from 1787 to 1789.<ref name=FJC/>

Bassett was elected to the United States Senate from Delaware and served from March 4, 1789, to March 3, 1793, first as a member of the Anti-Administration Party and later as a member of the Pro-Administration Party.<ref name=CB/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Due to his name coming first alphabetically out of all 20 senators who commenced their first term on 4 March 1789, Bassett is the most senior senator to have served in the United States Senate. Bassett was chief justice of the Delaware Court of Common Pleas from 1793 to 1799.<ref name="FJC" /> He was governor of Delaware from 1799 to 1801.<ref name="FJC" />

Bassett was nominated by President John Adams on February 18, 1801, to the United States Circuit Court for the Third Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 2 Stat. 89.<ref name="FJC" /> He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 20, 1801, and received his commission the same day.<ref name="FJC" /> His service terminated on July 1, 1802, due to abolition of the court.<ref name="FJC" />

Later life and death

After leaving the federal bench, Bassett became a planter in Cecil County.<ref name="FJC" />

While he was a slave owner, after converting to Methodism in the 1780s, he freed his slaves and campaigned for the state of Delaware to abolish slavery.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He died on September 15, 1815, on his estate Bohemia Manor in Cecil County.<ref group="Note">Some sources give his place of death as Kent County, Delaware.</ref><ref name="CB" /><ref name="FJC" /> He was initially interred in Cecil County, and in 1865 his remains were re-interred in Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery in Wilmington, Delaware.

Legacy

Bassett was the grandfather of Richard H. Bayard and James A. Bayard Jr., both United States senators from Delaware.<ref name=CB/>

Bassett Street in Madison, Wisconsin, is named in Bassett's honor.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Bassettown, now Washington, Pennsylvania, was named in Bassett's honor by his cousin David Hoge.Template:Citation needed

Note

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References

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Sources

Images

National Portrait Gallery; portrait courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.

External links

Template:CongBio

Biography by Russell Pickett
Delaware's Governors
The Political Graveyard
Judges of the United States Courts
National Archives
Biography of Bassett Template:Webarchive in Soldier-Statesman of the Constitution at the United States Army Center of Military History

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Richard Bassett (Delaware politician)

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Education and career

Later life and death

Legacy

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Richard Bassett (Delaware politician)

Education and career

Later life and death

Legacy

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Images

External links

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